


black, no sugar

by MadelaineHeartEyes



Category: Falsettos - Lapine/Finn
Genre: F/M, It's A Coffee Shop AU, Tags will be added as I write, it's also kind of a college au, which will probably develop into a much longer fic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-18
Updated: 2019-05-26
Packaged: 2020-03-07 13:44:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 2,151
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18874381
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MadelaineHeartEyes/pseuds/MadelaineHeartEyes
Summary: Mendel Weisenbachfeld finds Trina Horowitz equal parts captivating and irritating from the moment he lays eyes on her. But he will not fall in love with her. He just won't.





	1. Chapter 1

Mendel loved studying in the coffee shop. College was hard, harder than he had anticipated, and his third year was proving to be a ridiculous challenge thus far. His apartment got lonely if he sat in it for too long - plus, the street underneath was always bustling with a kind of non-productive noise that distracted him. Here, the noise was low-level and relaxing, _and_ the staff didn’t mind if he only bought three drinks for the whole day.

All of this was great, right up until _she_ showed up. He was sure that she must be new to the city, as she always looked a bit like a deer in the headlights, with the big cloud of curly black hair only added to this. Her skin was very, very pale, only accentuated by her dark eyes and hair. And her _clothes_. Not that he didn’t like them. He did, maybe. Probably. She dressed like something from a time gone by, but he couldn’t quite put his finger on it. Sometimes she wore big jumpers and baggy jeans, sometimes flared trousers and black turtlenecks, sometimes long buttoned skirts and stripy t-shirts, always with a matching headband. Not that he paid that much attention, of course not. He was just annoyed that she always chose to come in when he did and distract him. The place was normally pretty empty, despite the good coffee, and he was pleased with having found a relatively quiet spot in the chaos that was Greenwich Village, and this girl was so different to the rest of the patrons he couldn’t help staring at her for obscenely long periods of time. 

Not that she seemed to notice. She normally sat on one of the sofas, thumbing through thick books with names that meant nothing whatsoever to him. Even when she was engrossed in the book, her eyes didn’t lose their slightly manic quality.

She annoyed him.

He wanted to talk to her.

Realistically, he knew he probably never would.


	2. Chapter 2

Trina noticed the boy staring a few days after she started going to the little café near her accommodation. Man, she corrected herself, even though he gave off a certain air of uncertainty that made him seem younger. Not that she was judging, that same statement could definitely be applied to her. She only wished that he wouldn’t stare so, ogling without blinking for minutes at a time. It made her feel self-conscious, like she was being scrutinised, and she always felt a blush rising when she noticed his eyes were on her yet again.

She liked getting away from her roommate, who after two months was already getting on her nerves, bringing boys back and kicking her out to roam the halls aimlessly. Whenever they were alone together, they had absolutely nothing to say to each other, and Trina found it so excruciating that she barely spent any time there.

She rarely got much studying done. It was rather distracting having someone staring, and staring, and staring. She mostly just read through her books, tried to get some kind of background understanding. The course moved fast, but she liked it. It was interesting, and she really felt like she was learning.

* * *

 

About a month after her first visit, on an afternoon that seemed deceptively sunny for a November day, Trina noticed the boy staring once more. She contemplated and overthought and hypothesised for only a few minutes before she got up with her bag and mug of coffee, and made her way over to his table.

“Is there a reason that you stare at me every time I come in here?”

She meant it to sound exasperated, and instead she just sounded nervous. Very much not the effect that she was going for, but Trina supposed she’d just have to roll with it.

He was wearing an ill-fitting high necked navy jumper, and she realised with a jolt that they almost matched. Hers was black, but very much the same style. She hoped he wasn’t wearing a skirt underneath the table.


	3. Chapter 3

When Mendel looked up, he was stunned to see _the_ girl looking down at him, clutching her mug against her chest like it might protect her. For someone who had come over to confront him, she looked like she could bolt at any minute. He stumbled, not sure how to respond.

“Um… I’m-I’m not sure… Do I? I hadn’t noticed - sometimes I stare when I’m thinking, not at anything in particular… You know, just into space, to help me think. Not that I’ve never looked at you - I mean, I have noticed you, as a person - just not that I’d been staring at you. I’ve looked at you, definitely… Not that often, just sometimes… Would you like to sit down?”

The girl looked stunned by his response, her eyes growing even wider. Up close, they were a slightly lighter brown than they looked from a distance, and glowed when the sunlight hit them. Her hair looked very soft in the light, and was also lighter than he thought - not black, but a very dark brown. There was something almost - _breathtaking_ about her, that he couldn't put his finger on. She _was_ very pretty, but not movie-star beautiful, yet he literally could not take his eyes off her. God, he was staring again. His eyes darted back down to the table, and he was shocked when she responded rather than running away as fast as her legs would carry her. 

“Um - sure?”

It sounded like a question rather than an answer, and he should have been able to analyse the reason for that, but all of his study went out of his brain when he heard her pulling back the chair opposite. He shifted his laptop and papers slightly to make room for her cup, then finally looked back up.

She was still looking rather apprehensive, her fingers lacing and unlacing on the table, and not meeting his eyes. He quickly wiped his hand on his trousers, then offered it to her, hoping it wouldn’t be clammy.

“Hi - I’m Mendel. Weisenbachfeld. Don’t bother remembering that, it’s a mouthful I know… I mean remember it if you want to, not that I’d blame you if you didn’t. It’s long and foreign.”

Mendel had to physically jam his lips together to stop himself from talking. He always did that when he was nervous - over-talking then getting embarrassed about it.

The girl looked even more dazed, if that was even possible, but she shook his hand anyway as a small smile played at the edges of her lips. Was that a good sign? He hoped so. Her handshake was rather weak and her palms were very cold, but he tried not to care. It seemed at odds with the gentle warmth that the rest of her seemed to exude.

“I’m Trina - Horowitz. You don’t need to remember it, unless you want to.”

He wracked his brains for a second, before realising what had struck him.

“Is that a Jewish name? Mine’s Jewish too. I mean, I assume it is. My family’s Jewish.”

He was rambling again, and returned his hands to his lap where he started to wring them.

Thankfully, the girl seemed to relax slightly rather than looking at him like he was a crazy person. Or like she was a crazy person, which he had begun to fear. It would be just his luck to get saddled with a nut job. Not that he was saddled yet. Or planning on getting saddled.

“Yes, it is. I come from a Jewish family, not that I practice.”

A flash of guilt crossed her face and she looked down again, but he nodded. 

“Me neither, though my parents were pretty chill about that. Not that I know yours aren’t. Were they? You don’t have to answer that if you don’t want to. It was pretty personal.”

Trina looked taken aback again for a second, then her shoulders slumped.

“No, it’s fine. They weren’t ‘chill’ but they didn’t disown me so there’s that.” She shook herself visibly, then smiled for a second. “Sorry, it’s not your concern.”

But Mendel smiled at her gently, even as his heart raced. Maybe he’d brought up some deep-seated trauma that she was unable to properly cope with, and now he’d have to live with that fact.

“It’s-It’s no problem." 

They both sat in silence for a moment, but it wasn’t comfortable. Definitely an awkward silence. Mendel knew he wasn’t good at those - he either filled every second with meaningless ramble or left huge pauses that put everyone on edge.

“So, do you go to NYU? I’ve not seen you around until this year, and I think I’d remember you. Not in a weird way, just, you know, you’re different. In a good way! I love the way you dress.”

God, he was rambling. He was going on and on and Trina would think he was a stalker and never want to speak to him again. Why did that bother him? They’d never spoken before now. Her absence wouldn’t change his life at all, not one bit, so why was he so nervous. 

Trina spoke, and cut off his internal monologue. Her tone was tentative, but amused.

“Thank you? Yes, I do. You’re right - I’m a freshman.”

“How are you adjusting to the ‘Big Apple’?”

He cringed. No one called it that. Trina cracked a proper smile at that, although she kept her hands tightly clasped in her lap.

“It’s a big change. I’m from New Jersey, so not too far, but I’ve always lived in the suburbs. It’s a crazy place, but I like it. It’s got so much _energy_ , you know? There’s people everywhere and they’ve all got a purpose and dreams and they’re all together running around these streets…”

She trailed off, blushing, looking down again.

“I’m sorry-“

“I don’t mind.”

He meant it. She was cute when she got excited. Should her be finding her cute? Probably not, but something about the wild curls and spattering of freckles on her nose was undeniably cute. Not in a patronising way, just in a… _cute_ way.

“What are you studying?”

She spoke, but kept her gaze locked firmly on her lap.

“Art History. It’s fascinating - but I think I might go into teaching. I’m not sure yet.”

She did look up then, and he smiled shakily at her. His hands were still clammy in his lap, but he felt a bit more relaxed. After all, she hadn’t run yet.

“What about you?”

“Me? Psychology. There’s a lot to learn - I mean, it’s a science, so it’s all very technical and complicated. Not that your subject isn’t! I wouldn’t even know where to start.” 

Christ, he’d really screwed up now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Am I dragging out their first conversation unnecessarily? Yes, definitely. I swear chapters will be longer than this once I get into the flow of things...
> 
> Also I am aware that there's a difference between psychology and psychiatry but the buildings for psychology and art history are really close together so it was meant to be.


	4. Chapter 4

Trina was a little taken aback by… practically everything about Mendel. He talked _a lot_. But she found herself relaxing as she spoke to him, and even though she was still apprehensive, she _liked_ him, if that was possible after exchanging about ten sentences - his were so long that she reasoned they probably counted as more.

She didn’t quite know what to say to his last comment, so took a sip of her coffee before responding.

“Psychology? Yes, I’ve heard that’s difficult. I’ve never been a science person myself, but to each their own I suppose.”

Then came another awkward silence as Mendel looked abashed. She took another long sip before checking her watch, noticing with a jolt that she had a lecture starting in fifteen minutes - barely long enough to get there. She pushed her chair back, grabbing her bag and downing the end of her drink - Mendel looked up questioningly.

“I’m sorry, I’ve got to go. But I’ll see you around - I guess?”

He nodded, looking away, then seemed struck by a sudden burst of confidence and faced her again.

“Do you - um - want my number maybe? So we can - maybe - co-ordinate our coffee sessions?”

It was Trina’s turn to look embarrassed, her hands clasping in front of her.

“I’m - I’m sorry if I gave the wrong impression… I have a boyfriend. I’m sorry.”

She made to leave quickly, but he spoke again (although he didn’t conceal the flash of disappointment on his face quickly enough). 

“Oh! Well that’s - fine. As friends then? Friends can have each others phone numbers, right?”

Trina felt a smile creep onto her face despite herself, and nodded, handing her phone over. They didn’t quite know what to say after that, and she was still grinning like a dork, so hurried away.

It was only later, when she was on her way back to her room, that she realized he was, in almost every way, the complete opposite of Marvin, her boyfriend. And she had taken his number, and enjoyed their conversation. He had put a smiley face next to his name in her phone.

She wondered what that meant.


End file.
